Analysis of the Schmidt, Cohen & Margon (1980) features in the Red Rectangle nebula

TL;DR

This paper examines how atmospheric effects influence the observed spectrum of the Red Rectangle nebula, revealing that its fine spectral features are largely shaped by Earth's atmosphere or scattered starlight.

Contribution

It provides an analysis of atmospheric impact on nebular spectral features, specifically relating to the Schmidt, Cohen & Margon (1980) features in the Red Rectangle.

Findings

Nebula's continuum short-ward of 6700A resembles background spectra.

Spectral features are influenced by atmospheric absorption or scattered light.

Fine structure is not intrinsic to the nebula but affected by Earth's atmosphere.

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between atmospheric extinction and the spectrum of the Red Rectangle nebula on scales of a few to a few tens of Ang. It is found that the fine structure of the nebula's continuum short-ward of 6700A is similar to background spectra, and is thus determined either by atmospheric absorption or by light from HD44179 scattered in the earth atmosphere.